


Other Half of the Orange

by heyitsraichan



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adult Asriel Dreemurr, Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Asriel Dreemurr Lives, Alternate Universe - College/University, Ambassador Chara, Bad Puns, Chara Has Their Own Body, College Student Frisk, College Student Papyrus, F/F, F/M, Female Chara (Undertale), First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Frisk is aged around 18-20, Gender-Neutral Frisk, Grillby's, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Multi, No More Resets (Undertale), Other, Sans Has Issues, Sans Makes Puns, Sans notices some things, Scientist Sans, Scientist W. D. Gaster, Some Humor, Some minor character OCs, Time Skips, Time Travel, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, Undertale Saves and Resets, Undertale Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-16 10:40:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12341046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyitsraichan/pseuds/heyitsraichan
Summary: It’s been years since Chara and Asriel destroyed the barrier. Three decades to be exact. Everything’s been ironed out in that amount of time; the relationship with humans, monster’s integration into the surface, advancement of technology, etcetera, etcetera… The transition isn’t so smooth, but so much has changed in such time. Thirty years was such a short time for monsters. Everything else may have changed in the slightest but…Sans was still the same.





	1. How’s life on the surface?

It’s been years since Chara and Asriel destroyed the barrier. Three decades to be exact. Everything’s been ironed out in that amount of time; the relationship with humans, monster’s integration into the surface, advancement of technology, etcetera, etcetera… The transition isn’t so smooth, but so much has changed in such time. Thirty years was such a short time for monsters. Everything else may have changed in the slightest but…

 

Sans was still the same.

 

He’s the same lazy (well, at least he thinks he is lazy) skeleton he’s always been. He now lives in Surface City, the monster capital in the surface. This is why Asgore should never be left in charge of naming _anything _,__ he thought. Stating the obvious was his specialty.Sans does gigs as a stand-up comedian, being requested left and right in so many bars and events here in the surface. He’s still interested in science; still work in the laboratory of the Royal Scientist, Gaster, along with Alphys, until just this week, that is, now that the threat was gone. No more timelines resetting, stopping and getting detroyed. He sells hot dogs, and pranks people for laughs in his spare time. But there is still something missing. He still feels empty. Sans found it odd, though. He’s got a _great_ life here in the surface, more than what he could ask for. He’s got friends that love him, a house he shares with three more people (his brother, Undyne and Alphys; they’ve got a large house), and more money than he and his brother, Papyrus, can spend in a lifetime. The monster’s currency, which was gold, apparently had a high value for humans.

Maybe this emptiness was just because of the timelines they couldn’t remember. It showed in their readings in the lab, the fluctuations in time and space, but it seemed to have stopped, their own timeline no longer rewinding and unwinding. The source of his fear of all their efforts going to waste, of life being totally pointless, was gone now. Maybe his brain was trying to fill in the gaps but was failing miserably, longing for those lost memories. Yeah, that had to be it…

Sans liked Toriel, more than a friend should. He was younger than her by a century, more or less, but he was old enough to know that she isn’t interested in something like a romantic relationship with him. She was a married woman, for crying out loud! It pushed his self-esteem lower to even think that he would even consider dating a married woman, consider being a heartless, home-wrecker. He feels like the scum of the earth. Oblivious to Sans’ feelings, she suggests that he should try to get out more, find someone to love. He’s fine with that. It meant that he was definitely good at keeping his reactions and feelings in check. He did not scream out that he was once in love with her or anything. If he did, he could already imagine the startled expressions of everyone in the room; Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus, and Toriel herself, would freak out, he was sure. They all agreed to that (except Sans, but he was too lazy to voice out his concerns) and started to discuss about dating.

“I know a co-worker, you remember Elle, my fellow teacher? Would you like me to introduce you with each other?”

“HOW ABOUT YOU MEET MY FRIENDS AT THE UNIVERSITY, SANS? I AM SURE YOU WOULD LIKE SOME OF THEM! THERE WILL BE A PARTY AT JAY’S ON THE NEXT FRIDAY NIGHT, I COULD INTRODUCE YOU TO THEM THEN!”

“H-how about y-you try Tinder, er, or some other dating site…? Y-you c-could start there i-if you’re not particularly up to attending social gatherings…”

“I think Sans could use the exposure to society and sunlight－”

“to brighten my mood?”

“OH MY GOD SANS! WHEN WILL YOU STOP MAKING PUNS EVER SO RANDOMLY?! YOU ARE NARROWING YOUR DATING POOL WITH THAT EVEN MORE!”

“No, you pile of bones! TO TOUGHEN YOU UP TO THE TRIALS OF THE WORLD!”

Of course, he tried everything that they suggested that week. Elle the spider was Muffet’s younger sister and was…really nice but not really the type to laugh at puns and related humor. She liked…darker themes. He met weird monsters over the internet and while hanging out at the park or at Grillby’s. Talking to random strangers was not working out well for him, until Papyrus’ friend’s party that is. Sure, the place was…packed and it made him uncomfortable and reminded of the Underground all over again. Jammed. Cramped…so little space to breathe…so little space to move…monsters and humans, alike, dancing… He had to get away from the dance floor. He went to the food and drinks table. There seemed to be a lot of room behind it, so he stayed there instead, while fishing for some chips to dip in the cheese. He got a ketchup bottle from the table and took a long swig before pouring ketchup into the bowl of melted cheese. No one will know…well, except for one human in a tank top looking at them, giggling a little bit on the right side of the table.

“You love ketchup so much don’t you?” the stranger said _ _._ they look oddly familiar._

“the ketchup will make this dip taste _gouda_ , maybe even better!”

She laughs, genuinely getting it and finding the joke funny. She takes a chip and dips it in the ketchup-topped cheese bowl. That…caught Sans off-guard because aside from the Dreemurr family, no one else laughed much at his puns. Puns were a play with words…His jokes at the comedy bar were a little meaner and had an element of belittling others (and also himself), and was more like telling a funny, stupid story, but it works like magic. Everyone laughs. Little did everyone know, there are times when Sans could not think of a follow up joke. This is one of those rare times. It didn’t help that he could feel the kid paying attention to him…a tinge of blue appeared on his cheeks. “h-have we met?” He couldn’t help but ask. That feeling…was increasing steadily.

“I’d remember meeting a skeleton anywhere,” they simply replied, but that didn’t seem to make the blush in Sans’ cheeks dim. “Naaw, don’t look so _blue _,__  instead, say _cheese_. It’ll brighten your face up with a smile!”

Sans laughed. Hey, he’s supposed to be the comedian here! He can’t just back down from this amateur!

“Oh, wait, you already have a pretty smile! Maybe you don’t need to take my advice after all?”

Were they flirting with him? He decided to ignore that thought. “this party was kinda getting me down _tibia_ honest, stress is getting to me lately, _femur_ reasons than one! i did need a little mood booster. thanks for the effort, i appreciate it.”

They wiped away a tear from their eye as their chuckles died down and offered a hand for Sans to shake.

“Th’name’s Frisk.”

“sans.”

He held theirs in a firm handshake.

…and heard a hilarious sound of air passing agonizingly slow through a small opening. Much like a fart.

“Whoopie-cushion-in-the-hand-trick! Works every time!”

“do you _always_ keep that thing with you? you creep,” he said, trying to sound like he was weirded out, but couldn’t hide his chuckles.

“I may or may not keep it on my person whenever I go out of the dorm, on certain occasions, anytime, every time…” They waved their hand with a flourish and winked at him.

Huh, an interesting character who loves humor, in any forms. Much like him. SO much like him. He talked with them for a while, asking for the basic details (“Frisk, Fine Arts, same univ as Paps, Jay’s a childhood friend of theirs,” he made a list in his mind), before they turned the conversation around on Sans (“So, you’re Paps’ older bro…you’ve got perma-smile?! doesn’t it hurt your jaw? …Huh, never thought of Physics that way before…might come in handy for future drawing projects, thanks…”). _They_ were the one asking questions now. _They_ were the one asking if he was free next Friday night, for dinner. _They_ were the one asking if he preferred any restaurant over the others. He immediately replied, “Grillby’s.” Just when he thought they were going to turn around and walk away from him for that answer, they instead smiled and said, “I’d love to chat with you more. Friday, 6:30, Grillby’s. Sound good?”

 _ _They__ were the one to ask him out on a _date _?__  And he just let it happen. He just nodded.

He could tell from the kid’s (he wanted to keep calling them that somehow) expression that they were suppressing a grin. He was pretty good at reading facial expressions. They could tell a lot from it. He could tell that they were happy that _that_ worked out. He could tell that they were trying to keep their cool and carefree demeanor, to no avail. They were rocking on their heels, their face flushed from excitement. It kinda confused Sans, but also made him glad his acquaintance was feeling happy talking to him. It’s a huge boost of confidence for himself, too. They shoved their hands in both of their pant pockets.

“Huh, great then.”

Their eyes widened in shock when, presumably, a friend of theirs was bounding towards where Sans and Frisk were. “FRISKY-BITSY! My goooooooood roommate! L…let’s drink s-some moar, a’right?! Back in the dorm…!”

“Aaaaand, this is why I never get hammered in parties,” they softly slapped their palm on their own forehead. “This is Lorraine, Sans, Sans, Lorraine.”

Yep, he definitely wanted a moment _sans-Lorraine_ right now. He felt, uncomfortably, irritated with this other person who just suddenly appeared. The friend clumsily wrapped her arm around Frisk’s shoulder, putting all of her weight on them. For someone with such a lithe build, it was a little bit surprising to see that they could support the taller woman’s dead-weight.

“Eeeeeya, Frisky…and who’s the skeleton, huh?” She was pointing at Sans. Seems like this _Lorraine_ did not hear Frisk introducing them. “Is that…That guy, the one with…in－” Then she fell asleep before she could continue. Sans could swear there was a faint sound of a snapping finger just right before their roommate passed out. Must be his imagination.

“Ha ha, that was embarrassing… sorry to cut our conversation short, Sans, must get this irresponsible drinker back to the dorm… _ _so__ …see you?”

“Friday, 6:30, Grillby’s, right?” He repeated from memory.

They sighed, “God I thought you were going to turn me down! Silly me, huh?” They did a little knock on their head, sticking their tongue out a little. That was…cute. Like in one of the animes Sans used to watch with Alphys. He never thought it would look cute in real life, too.

“I thought __you__ were just aiming for a conversation to pass the time and forget about it in the morning.”

“Ha, ha, never going to forget meeting a skeleton.”

This was his chance to impress. And for some reason he took it, all doubt in his mind thrown out of the window…

“hey, sorry, can i take up a little bit more of both of you’s time? just a little trick i got for bein’ a skeleton…i can, like, i dunno, take you home…not to _my_ house but to where __you__  live currently, which is your dorm and will only take five minutes, tops－”

“You’re offering to take me home, seriously? Sure, I don’t mind.”

...only to be reminded of their doubts mid-way, like a boomerang. Sans was taken aback that they immediately agreed. Well, they just met and all… “huh, ya trust me? little too trusting don’cha think?”

“You offered, might as well take advantage of the benefits. And I don’t trust _you _,__ well, I do not mean to offend you in any way when I say that, but I trust my butt-kicking skills.”

“haha, cool, just another thing though, if you don’t mind, can you show me a picture of your dorm? part of the trick.”

“Okaaaay…Wait a sec.” Frisk settled their friend down on a newly vacated seat nearby and fished out their phone from their pocket. Frisk showed him a picture of them and her roommate, just outside their room’s door. _Rm 217_. 

Sans hummed. “okay, we’re good to go, if you would just hold my arm please, just choose a bone, either the radius or the ulna, i don’t mind…and hold on to your friend over there.”

“This is weird, but sure…” Frisk did as instructed and Sans still had time to act like an announcer on an airplane. They supported the weight of their friend on their entire left side, an arm draped on the other’s shoulders. Frisk’s left arm supported her back, afraid that if they didn’t, Lorraine would fall butt first. They held Sans’ arm firmly. “welcome to sans air, tighten your grips and please take a long, deep breath because were gonna go vacuum in three, two, one…!”

Frisk closed their eyes, took a long, deep breath, not only because they were told to do so, but to also suppress a chuckle. Somewhere in what Sans had said was a pun. Intended or not, it was clever. Sans concentrated so hard on that single piece of clue alone, the little details on the door, the room number…two-hundred and seventeen… and the color…mahogany brown…he’s done this countless of times, he’s sure he wouldn’t fail…would he? _Geez, this is no time for insecurities!_ He scolded himself internally. A few seconds later, the three of them were right outside Room 217. Frisk opened their eyes and finally breathed. They were met with the sweet scent of burning caramels for a little while there, but it’s gone as soon as it appeared.

“i call them _shortcuts_.” Frisk gaped at him, and he coolly slid a bony hand inside his hoodie’s pockets. “what?” He shrugged.

“You really can teleport!? Is it a Sans thing only or can any other monster have it?”

“well, skeletons can enjoy many things. i’m just maximizing the perks.”

“Well, I learned a lot tonight. Thank you, Sans, also for bringing us to the dorm,” back turned to Sans, they were already turning the knob.

“no prob, kiddo.”

“Good night,” they opened the door, half-carrying their drunk roommate inside the room.

“g’night.”

The door was locked shut and Sans hurried to shortcut back to the party to inform Papyrus immediately about his ‘date’ on Friday.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new one from me! YAAAAAYS. Breaking my block on RESETS, I am entertaining other ideas for a while. I hope you like it. Give a kudos and comment!


	2. * You found a piece of the empty space in the puzzle.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “GRILLBY’S IS NOT EXACTLY AN IDEAL PLACE FOR A DATE. YOUR DATE MAY NOT HAVE GOOD TASTE IN PICKING RESTAURANTS BUT YOU FOUND SOMEONE YOU HAVE A LOT IN COMMON WITH, BROTHER. I AM HAPPY FOR YOU.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i couldn't wait to post this next one, so i'm posting it now gdi i don't care anymore! HAHAHAHA and i haven't even finished the next update, yet. thanks for the kudos guys! it really means a lot to me that people are reading my stuff.  
> also, check out my tumblr, i might even entertain some asks if you ever do: essential-non-essentials.tumblr.com

Friday night. 6:31PM on his digital wrist watch. They’re late. Or was Sans just too early? Undyne, Alphys and Papyrus helped him prep for his ‘date,’ well, tried to. They’ve got weird ideas about dating. Papyrus told him to bring the human some homemade spaghetti and store it in a hat before giving it to them. Alphys advised him to ask the human to role-play with him. Undyne handed him a spear.

“guys, you know, they didn’t really _exactly_ say that it’s a _date_ , right? they didn’t really say ‘hey, sans, would you like to go on a date with me?’ it was more like, ‘i’d love to talk with you more, let’s have dinner in our free time.’” He didn’t want to assume. They did not explicitly say it was a date. Before he could make sense of what to do with the spaghetti, the spear and the odd advice, Papyrus was driving them to Grillby’s.

Papyrus stopped the car in front of the establishment, with a soft step on the pedal brake and a firm pull on the hand brake.

“GRILLBY’S IS NOT EXACTLY AN IDEAL PLACE FOR A DATE. YOUR DATE MAY NOT HAVE GOOD TASTE IN PICKING RESTAURANTS BUT YOU FOUND SOMEONE YOU HAVE A LOT IN COMMON WITH, BROTHER. I AM HAPPY FOR YOU.”

Alphys placed a hand on Sans’ shoulder and gave it an assuring squeeze. She smiled and said, “good luck.” Undyne gave him a few words of encouragement too, and a promise.

“Promise, we’ll be nearby. If you need anything, just call on us.”

“LET ME HELP YOU PICK THE PLACE FOR YOUR DATE NEXT TIME!”

“pap, this is not a date.”

And there they were on a booth with slightly open curtains. When he looked to their direction, they gave him a collective thumbs-up. He could hear them in his head saying, “you can do this!” He sighed again. Wasn’t he lucky to have such supportive friends and a cool brother?

“Hey,” that familiar voice said, at the same time he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to face them.  Frisk wore a blue hoodie jacket with two, thick, pink stripes around the midsection over a white tank top that had the text, ‘the last of my clean clothes.’ They matched it with shorts that were as brown as the boots they wore. It covered their entire shin. He, on the other hand didn’t even try too hard dressing up for this because (1) he didn’t know what to put on, and (2) the suggestions of his brother just looked…well, they were not really his style. He opted for what he was most comfortable with wearing; a white shirt and a blue hoodie, which was new, by the way, so he _did_ put some effort. Instead of his usual jogging pants and pink, fuzzy slippers ensemble, he wore jeans and sneakers. Even though this isn’t _exactly_ a date, he wanted to be respectful. Wearing nice clothes when meeting someone is a sign of respect. He wasn’t sure if this is also true for humans, but that was how it was for monsters. He tried, though with minimal effort, to look presentable. But Frisk was beautiful.

“heya, kid.”

“Sorry I’m late…had to finish a group project. I wanted more free time, so we finished it waaay ahead.”

“nah, it’s cool, haven’t been here _that_ long.”

“No, really, I know you monsters are very particular with your meeting times down to the minute… I’m really sorry I ended up making you wait because of that,” she said as she climbed and sat on the stool next to Sans’. Their feet were dangling just less than a foot away from the ground. She swung them back and forth like how a kid would. Sans laughed.

“don’t worry, ‘bout it, kiddo. i’m a monster who’s the exception. i come late to events and meetings.” _liar _,__ he thought to himself, because he definitely got here ahead of time.

Frisk’s cheeks were rosy red, he noticed. They smiled some, though a little strained. Were they nervous? If so, why? They looked away and called to the bartender, stammering a bit. Grillby, on the other side of the bar, was idly wiping some heat-resistant glasses. He recognized both Sans and Frisk immediately; Sans was his long-time friend and patron, Frisk was a recent regular. Sans asked for the usual, which meant fries, with extra-extra ketchup, while Frisk ordered a berry smoothie and a cheese burger with fries.

“IS THAT FRISK? THE ARTS MAJOR?” Sans could hear his brother even from that distance. Undyne had a loud voice too, but he couldn’t understand what she was saying. He turned around to see his brother already leaving the booth, Undyne and Alphys desperately trying to make him sit back down, only to fail. Sans could imagine Undyne cursing a lot, and Papyrus being oblivious to it. How Alphys could manage to live with the three of them, he did not know. His brother was already an arms-length away from Frisk, the kid greeting him warmly. They exchanged hi’s and hello’s, how do you do’s, until Papyrus said, “HAVE YOU MET MY BROTHER, SANS? HE IS RIGHT HERE NEXT TO YOU! HE IS WAITING FOR HIS DATE. HE IS THE COOLEST, SECOND ONLY TO ME! SAY, BROTHER, YOUR DATE, WHERE ARE THEY? THEY ARE TERRIBLY LATE.” He grabbed his older brother, lifting him a bit from his seat. Frisk tried to suppress their chuckles, Sans was doing the same. Papyrus noticed and asked what was so funny.

Frisk simply replied, “I’m his date, Pap. Sorry for being late.”

Papyrus gaped, and Sans even thought that his jaw seemed like it could drop at any minute. He looked from Sans, to Frisk then back to Sans again.

“YOU DID NOT TELL ME THAT YOUR DATE WAS FRISK RANDOLF.”

“i must’ve forgotten, oops. sorry bro.” Sans didn’t have the heart to deny that this was a date anymore, when Frisk said it right in front of his face. Papyrus put him back to where he was once sitting.

“I WILL BE HAVING A TALK WITH YOU LATER,” his younger brother tried to whisper, but it was still loud enough that Sans was sure Frisk could hear. He went back to the booth, talking animatedly to his companions.

“Did I already tell you about how I met your brother back at school?” Frisk leaned closer to the table. They took three strips of fries, dipped it in ketchup before putting it in their mouth.

They were close enough that their arms touched when one or the other moved. Sans felt giddy, like a twelve year-old with a first crush. A chuckle rumbled in his chest.

“no, you haven’t yet. how’d you two meet anyway?”

They finished chewing before speaking again. “He thought I was a child running around on campus, I was wearing this exact same hoodie. And I found out then that monster children wore stripes.

“It was my noon break. I spent a lot of time sitting near Lady Gravy’s stand, ‘coz it had just the right amount of natural light during the day. I had my stuff with me and everything. I had nothing to draw, I had little appetite, so I just sat there. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder, when I turned he said, ‘Human child, are you lost?’ He said he could lead me to the elementary building if I want, and that he was not a bad guy. He was quite proud that he memorized the entire campus’ nooks and cranies that he was confident enough to offer that. I laughed because I kinda found the mistake funny but he was so cute and kind－”

“of course he is,” Sans interjected.

“Right? I didn’t have the heart to snap at him. Not that I had any thought of snapping at him at the time, but yeah. So I politely told him to sit down with me and convinced him that I wasn’t a child. I was a freshman, just like him. I introduced myself and we started hanging out from there on. I was also the one who told him about Jay’s party, and I invited him to hang out sometime.

“I gotta tell you, Sans. He’s got waaaay more friends than I do now after Jay’s party. He’s got that charm, you know? You just can’t not like him!”

Sans remembered then that Jay was Papyrus’ course mate, but a sophomore. (Also, Frisk’s childhood friend.) Paps was the only monster currently enrolled in the culinary arts program. Isn’t his bro amazing?

“of course, no one dislikes my bro! he’s the best of the best.”

Frisk smiled. It was a small smile, a happy smile. “You really love your brother, don’t you?”

He nodded. “well, apart from dad, he’s the only family i’ve got. we’ve been around each other since the day he was born. i was always by his side. if you’ve got a workaholic of a dad, that’s what happens. we cling to each other for support.”

By the time Sans finished talking, Frisk was finished with their plate of food. “whoa, slow down, pal! you eat fast.”

“Yeeaah, it’s one of the things I have discovered recently about myself…” They’ve got nothing to do with their hands anymore, now that they’ve finished their food. Sans was sure that they were nervous now. They were doing nothing to hide it anymore. He decided not to call them out on it.

“Sans, I…”

“yep? what is it?”

They paused, breathing in as if they’ve been holding their breath all this time. They smiled, as if they didn’t show any signs of nervousness at all. “Nothing, I just wanted to say you look nice today.”

“thanks. you beat me right to it, i was gonna compliment you first!”

“Hehe, you’re not fast enough in giving compliments, Sans. Ya need to,” they took a squeezee bottle of ketchup just an arms-reach away. “ _ketchup _,”__ they continued, then winked.

He reached for a bottle of mustard nearby. “ _mustard_ been distracted ‘coz you look beautiful. you are a _dill _-__ light to look at.”

“You’re good at compli- _mint_ -ing, people. Aren’t you a charmer…”

“heh, what can I say? i’m as cool as a cucumber. oh, wait, that’s not a pun anymore.”

Frisk giggled. “Thanks for going out with me today. That’s really nice of you to accept a total stranger’s offer to dinner.”

“you’re welcome, kiddo. i regret nothing, you’re a good friend to pap, as far as i can see.”

They talked some more, until Sans finished his fries. And even after that. Frisk learned more about Sans’ friends and family. Whenever he talked about himself, it was never just him. It always included his brother, or his father. His and Pap’s father was the Royal Scientist for the King of Monsters, Doctor Gaster. Frisk gaped with shock upon hearing this bit of information. This is exactly why he told only a few people about his only living parent.

“i worked for him, until last week, when the project was finally finished. great thing that i have side jobs, would’ve been bored out of my wits at home now that paps ain’t around to talk to.”

“Do you mind if I asked what you were working on?”

“huh, i dunno, kid, i…”

Frisk must’ve felt his unease and laid a hand on Sans’ own. “Don’t tell me if you don’t want to, I don’t mind not knowing. I was just curious.”

He didn’t move his hand. He didn’t swat them away either. Their warmth was somehow familiar and calming. “no, it’s fine. we were working on a project concerning space-time. we made a device powerful enough to both power the entire underground and read some time anomalies, timelines stopping, disappearing and reverting back to a certain event and place we called SAVE points. the project was in play, even before we monsters made it back to the surface,” he paused and drank a little bit of ketchup straight from the bottle. He sighed and whispered to himself. “god, it’s about time i told someone about this…” If Frisk heard, they did not comment about it. They patiently waited for him to continue. “have you ever felt like everything you did and will ever do lead to nowhere? everything will just reset one day and…you won’t remember anything but you are sure that you felt the world stutter, and that you’ve already done this before..? like, some events already happened but are just happening again..?”

Frisk was quiet, almost sad. Sans realized he could be scaring them with the things he’s saying. He quickly brightened up. “heh, sorry ‘bout that, kiddo, but yeah, i felt like that before, but now…we had no more readings of the timeline reversing and stopping at certain periods. we had enough data to stop the project and conclude that the danger of time anomalies are gone now.”

“Did…did you know why it stopped? The readings, I mean.”

“we’re not exactly sure, since we couldn’t test it; all we could do was observe the event while it was happening. our best guess is that the anomaly was fixed, or something happened to drive it to stop destroying timelines.”

“It, huh?” They said, quietly. Their hands seemed to be the most interesting thing that they could look at, at the moment.

There was a pause between the two of them. They both knew it was something heavy that Sans dropped just now. They had to let it sink in. Sans didn’t want their night to end on such a sad note though.

“hey, kid, can i tell you a story?” He asked Frisk, and they nodded. “so i was buying some fruits. my brother loves fruits, also it’s healthy to eat those. he would like me to loose weight, loose some fat here and there. ‘figured some change in eating habits would do the trick.”

Frisk grinned wide, and said, “But you’re all bones! You don’t have fat!”

“dunno ‘bout him, but in his eyes imma fatso ‘coz he’s lean and sexy and tall. so yeah, i go to the store, to buy some fruit first, then vegetables. and i have this friend who works for the store, tends to the customers. i like him, we talk sometimes. one time, i wanted to approach him but an old woman was already talking to him. yelling at ‘em actually－‘where are the potatoes?-where are the potatoes?’－over and over…and my friend kept telling her ‘ma’am we don’t have potatoes here in the fruits section. maybe try the vegetables section?’ you could definitely tell that he was really trying to stretch his patience with this old woman. she screamed at him to ‘stop hiding them damn potatoes from me!’ then he said, sure, if she answered correctly to his questions… the old woman must’ve been crazy, ‘coz she agreed.” That elicited a laugh from Frisk, and they’re listening with curiosity and amusement.

“so my friend said, ‘spell cat, as in catastrophe,’ and the crazy old lady did as what he said. she spelled, ‘C A T.’ she was correct. the next one was ‘dog, as in dogmatic,’” Sans took a sip from the ketchup bottle before continuing. “the old lady was furious, but she complied. she spelled it correctly, ‘D O G.’ the next one was the final question. she was so relieved to hear that. then my friend said, ‘spell fuck, as in potatoes.’” Sans paused as Frisk bursts into contagious laughter. He delivered the punchline in between breaths. ”but the old lady was like, ‘there’s no fuck in potatoes.’ and then my friend says, ‘that’s what i’ve been try’na say, lady! there are no fucking potatoes at the fruits section!”

“No fuckin’ potatoes!” Frisk repeats, and breathes in to stop their laughter. They wiped a tear from their eye. “Hilarious.”

“that was part of my script for my first stand-up, actually and, also, it never happened.”

“No, freakin’ way.”

“it was a made up story.”

“You also do stand-up comedy? Cool.”

“this is quite empty, actually, except for jokes,” he pointed to his temple and grinned wider. “i have more jokes up here than brains. you wanna hear ‘em?”

“Hit me.”

Sans dishes out joke after lame joke. Every joke made them laugh, and they completed some of them before Sans even finishes delivering the punch line. Sans thought that despite hearing these jokes already, did they not get tired of them or get annoyed by them? He eventually dismissed it, since it did such a good job at brightening their mood up again.

Until Grillby’s closing time. Both of them were so engrossed in their own little world that Grillby had to step in and tell them to look at the time. They wouldn’t have noticed that the restaurant was empty, otherwise. Sans looked behind him, to the booth his brother and their friends occupied. Paps was asleep, sprawled on the table, with empty wine bottles. Undyne and Alphys were talking quietly, their expressions sleepy and cheeks red. They had drunken smiles on their faces.

“I guess, we need to go home now,” Frisk concluded.

They helped him in dealing with his companions. They and Grillby carried Alphys and Papyrus. Sans carried Undyne. Frisk commented that he was stronger than he looked.

“yeah, it’s magic,” he winked at them.

The three of them placed the drunk couple and Papyrus together in the back. With the car window rolled down, the human and the short skeleton thanked Grillby.

“Thank you also for visiting me, even if it was only for a while,” said the flame monster.

“i’ll try to visit more often, outside of your work, old friend.”

“Be assured that I’m gonna come here everyday bringing friends, Grillby. I love your food, also, it’s affordable,” said Frisk.

Grillby turned blue at their words. He likes it when his cooking is being complimented. He waved them goodbye as Sans drove away.

It was quiet inside the car. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but more of a content one. He was very comfortable around Frisk. He didn’t mind their presence at all, like it was normal that they were with them, like everything was how it should be. It was then that Sans realized they liked being around this person. They want to be around them more. They’ve felt this before too with another person. With a certain boss monster. And now they were feeling it with Frisk.

“Sans…”They called out to him.

“yeah?”

“The road?”

“o-oh. right,” he didn’t even notice that he was staring. Luckily there were no other cars on the road that time. “heh, heh, sorry ‘bout that! ‘gave you a scare didn’t i?”

They just smiled and hummed. “Drive responsibly, Sans.” Their phone rang in their hands, and it was answered immediately. “Hello, house keeping. Do you want your house hidden from plain sight or on a warehouse?”

_I’m hungry, Fr －_

“Why hello, Hungry, I’m Frisk…”

_I’m serious right now! I’ve been －_

“I thought you were Hungry…”

_Friiiiisk_

“just kidding Lorraine, geez.”

_You heading home yet?_

“Uh-huh, I’m about to go home now.“

_Good, also, hurry up! Are you still with Sans or did he go home already?_

“Yep, he’s driving, I’m in the passenger seat next to him…”

_Oooh, is he taking you home? For some ‘coffee?’ I mean, are you guys gonna ‘bone’ tonight?_

They paused, blushing. “I-I-I got that the first time, Lorraine! And n-no! Just…no. We’re not－well, er, I’m not going to his house for some ‘coffee,’” She gestured invisible finger quotes with their free hand.  

_Hahahaha, holy shit that’s hilarious and cute of you! Too bad I can’t take a pic －_

“Please. Stop asking me that already.”

_Okay, okay, I’ve had my laugh. Can you do me a favor and get some food? Some chips or whatever! Pleeaase, Frisky-bitsy?_

They groaned. “Fine, I’ll buy some food on the way, ‘kay? Why’re you up late anyway?”

_Why are you going home late anyway? Hehehe~_

“Point taken.”

_Really though, I’m gonna pull an all-nighter right now so that I don’t have anything to do tomorrow. I just wanna sleep all daaaaaayyyy._

__“__ Welp, I’ll let you know when I’m near. See yah.”

_See yah, bae-beh._

They hung up. “Lorraine wants some food.”

“we could go to a 24-hour convenient store just after we drop these guys at home, is that okay?”

“We? No, no, I could…I could go on my own. I don’t wanna bother you any further.”

“no, no.” _i have to insist. i want to be with you a little longer._ “you’re not bothering me at all.”

“If you insist, then…okay.”

“okay.”

There’s that contented silence again. It stretched out until they reached Sans’ (and his pals’) residence. It was an average house, painted blue with white accents, and a wide lawn, surrounded by a low, white-washed fence. The house seemed to be bright, even though it was nighttime. Must be the night lights dangling on both sides of the door, and in between windows. Frisk could imagine it being bright indoors too, especially in the morning. Lots of sunshine seeping through their windows. They could see it in their mind’s eye. Sans carried them all to their respective rooms. Frisk, despite Sans’ protests, insisted that they help tend to the sleeping persons.

“how much wine did they drink anyway? i’m gonna have to talk to these guys in the morning as to why they let my brother get drunk…” Sans sighed.

The last person to be put to bed was Undyne. Sans was supporting most of her weight as they go up the stairs. Frisk was on the other side of her, arms draped over their shoulders.

“Sandy..? I don’t like Sandy, how ‘bout Alphyne?”

Frisk turned to look at Undyne when they heard her talk.

Sans just looked amused. “she sleep talks. probably about naming her children with alphys.”

“Oh my god, that’s cute. Do they plan on marrying?”

“dunno, maybe…” Sans shrugged. “hope so anyways, paps and i get the house all to ourselves after that!”

They both chuckled.

“after you,” Sans offered that Frisk walk down the stairs first.

“Such a gentleman,” so they did.

“would you like some coffee, or..?”

Frisk turned red and stuttered. “N-n-no! No! I’m, I’m fine thanks! I should just…go…”

Sans was a little disappointed to hear that. “right, ‘coz of your roommate, got it.”

They headed out of the door first, Sans followed. “so, shortcut or drive?”

“We could just walk..? It’s near right?” Frisk said, to which Sans nodded. They started walking. Slow, like they were taking a leisurely stroll. They kinda were.

“Which do you prefer? Your teleporting or driving?”

Sans hummed, thinking for a bit, then replied. “i like shortcuts better, less work, also it’s fast.”

“Does Papyrus have the same ability too?”

“sadly, no. compensates for the lack of teleportation through sheer enthusiasm. he could get things done and fast!”

Sans babbled on about his brother, and some bits about their father. Frisk just listened, until halfway through when Sans asked, “you’ve been asking _me_ stuff all night, (Frisk stiffened.) what about you? how are things for you?”

Frisk wiped a sweat and sighed inaudibly. “I’m great, everything’s great. College is…making me a little bit crazy, heh. Halfway through the semester and I’ve already made great progress with my social life, being with Jay, and now I’m friends with Papyrus. My social connections’ getting larger everyday!” _being with jay? what, are they dating?_ Sans thought. Frisk was oblivious to his thoughts, so they continued. “Also with my grades, I’ve got okay grades. I’m not aiming to have Latin honors, I just wanna finish school and make art until the day I die. That’s it. Not that I’m not already doing that. I accept commissions now and then.”

Sans cleared his non-existent throat. “jay’s…jay’s your childhood friend right? (Frisk nodded.) are you guys really, really close, or just close friends?”

Sans didn’t even notice he was making hand gestures, but Frisk did. They paused and stopped walking. Sans was just a few steps ahead of Frisk. He stopped walking and turned when he heard Frisk laughing behind him. “what’s so funny?” He asked.

“I just remembered something… And no, Jay’s not…No, we’re just friends. I’m single,” they said, smiling sweetly at Sans, fondness for the person they were with was displayed on their face like a neon sign. Sans was especially good at reading facial expressions, and this is one of the rare times they had the most sincere of feelings seep out through their face. Most other feelings from them were mild, except for when they heard about who his father was. That was genuine shock. Or when they were nervous during dinner. Or when they were flustered. (god, how can a human get so cute? No, he has to snap out of it!) Or when he told them about what he and his dad were working on… But the rest? When he talked about his friends, Paps, Asgore and Toriel…most of the monster kind, or when he talked about being a scientist…they may act shocked, or ask more questions, but it was as if they already knew the answers to those questions. And where’s all this unexplained fondness coming from? Not that Sans’ feelings for the kid was escalating quickly, too. They just met a week ago! What’s up with them? They’re so…there’s no other word for it except ‘odd.’ And Sans was drawn to that oddness. Frisk was a mystery he was determined to solve.

“oh, cool. i was just wondering, ya’ know. with you always mentioning him and all.”

Sans let Frisk catch up with him and they both continued walking. “He’s always the one I’m with nowadays.”

“not lorraine?” If Sans could roll his eyes, he would. But he doesn’t have eyes, just dots of light on each empty eye sockets. So he’s got an unexplained annoyance for Lorraine, too? Geez. Where are all these feelings coming from?

“Lorraine’s on another college, same univ, different schedules. We only ever meet in the room, or when we go to the same events. I, at least have one class when Jay’s my classmate, and we sometimes meet on lunch break. ”

He shouldn’t have asked. There’s an unpleasant feeling bubbling up into the surface. Was he jealous? What for? Oh, finally, Sans could change the subject! “ah, here we are, the nearest convenient store around!” It was named Elle’s. Yep. The same Elle Sans had a date with weeks ago. He sighed, that date was such a bust. Maybe it’d be better if he didn’t go in.

Frisk bought chips, a tub of ice cream (cookies ‘n’ cream), and some biscuits. It filled their basket, almost overflowing. After they’ve paid, the cashier asked them, “Is that monster your boyfriend? Wow, my parents don’t even want me to have a monster as a romantic partner. You guys’re so progressive!”

“I wish he was,” Frisk looked at his pin. “Steve. I really do.”

“Oh, sorry. I thought－”

Frisk just waved goodbye at him and went out to meet Sans. “is it okay if i used a shortcut to get you to your dorm? it’s far if we walk, you’ll be exhausted when you get home.”

Frisk nodded. They didn’t want to be a bother to Sans any longer anyway. He teleported them out of there and outside their dorm room. The scent of burning caramels was gone as soon as it surfaced. Frisk really liked that smell. It was a lot like Sans, sweet and safe and warm.

“is it okay for outsiders to be even in here?”

“Yes,” but Sans doubted that. Frisk eventually corrected themselves. “Actually, no. But no one ever tells the management, heheh.”

A few moments ago the silence was not so awkward, but now…

“So, er…”

“yeah, i gotta go now…”

“See you around?”

“yeah, see you.”

“Wait,” Frisk held on to the sleeve of his jacket. “Thanks again, for today. I, uh… _ _shit.__ ” They muttered a curse under their breath as they fumbled for their phone. “Can I have your number? So that I can text you, or…something.” They were red at the cheeks again.

They handed the phone to Sans. And he typed in his number. When he handed them their phone, his own rang. _Unknown number._

“That’s me calling.” They showed them their screen, with his name displayed. “Now you could save my number and call me if you want to.” They smiled at him.

“cool, i’ll call you when i get home then,” he winked at them.

They hummed, smiling. “Okay.”

“also, pap wanted you to have this,” he handed them a container filled with spaghetti, from out of thin air. They took it, smiled, and said their thanks.

He waved at them one second, and they were gone the on next. Frisk entered their dorm room and handed the bag of groceries and the spaghetti to their roommate who asked, “So, how’d it go?” They were about to respond when their phone rang.

_“i’m home now,”_ said by the person on the other side of the line.

“Good, did you get home safe?” They giggled. They’ve been doing that an awful lot tonight.

_“no, i didn’t. someone robbed me, stole my heart.”_

“You don’t have a－” Frisk remembered that that’s how Sans flirts. “Heh, heh…okay. I-I, er, hope you find it, Sans.”

“Oh god, Frisk you’re as red as a strawberry!” Lorraine exclaimed.

They mouthed at their roommate to shut up. She did, but her phone was already pulled out and poised to take a picture.

_“was that your roommate?”_

“Y-yeah! Heh, saying they wanted strawberries! Eh-heh!” They tried to swat their roommate away as best as they can.

He groaned. Or maybe sighed. _“i just called in to say good night.”_

“Good night to you too, Sans.”

_“sweet dreams.”_

“You－you too!”

It took a long pause before Sans hung up. Frisk did not want to endure all the prodding and teasing their roommate had to give. They pretended to sleep.

 

_what_. Did he even think about what he just did? He flirted with Frisk! Some part of himself said that it was the perfect opportunity to dish out a pick up line and he just went through with it. He just went through with it, without thinking twice about it! After hearing Frisk hesitating to reply to that, he regretted it. Yeah, sure, _“i just called in to say good night”_ was not the best of saves but it did the trick.

Normal, human coffee did nothing like killing sleep to monster’s bodies, it just tasted good. Sans decided to make himself some, before going to bed. They remembered that Frisk was flustered at the mention of coffee, earlier. Why was that? He wondered. Was it something Lorraine told her? Or something else? The more he thought about it, the more it felt like the answer was on the tip of his tongue. And he could vaguely remember a memory of something… _pleasurable _.__ He dismissed it after a few more attempts at grasping at a memory that’s out-of-reach.

He took a sip of coffee. “huh, but i doubt it…”


	3. Coin tricks and treats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life is not a walk in the park. If you feel like it is at the moment, that's just the intermission. You'll go back to your regularly scheduled program.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyy, how have you been while i was away? good? haven't been hearing anymore feedback for this from here. i dunno if you're doing great either, so, there's that. but i'm back with this new update, enjoy!

“You’re shy?”

“What kind of excuse is that?! I mean, you’re the one who asked them to dinner first and now you’re shy to do it again?”

They blushed, cheeks as deep red as a cherry. They took a sip of the hot chocolate, the large, round, mug covering their face from their friends

“You said you feel _that_ connection with him, right?”

They nodded, “Yeah.” The mug was set down on the table, but never let go; their hands still wrapped around it.

“This might sound cliche but, you follow your heart. See where that connection takes you.”

“Also, when the time comes, you have to be honest, with him and with yourself.”

They breathed in sharply, trying to kill the worry they felt. Their two companions must’ve noticed.

“You like him, right?”

“I-I do, but－”

“If you really want to see him again, just ask him out!”

“What are you so afraid of, anyway?”

They fell silent.

“That…he’ll reject me..? That he won’t like me? That he’ll want to never see me again?”

“But that’s what life is about isn’t it? Taking the plunge? It’s a risk you have to take,” said Jay. Lorraine would have to agree.

“Whatever the outcome, we’re here to support you, Frisky-Bitsy.”

 

They’ve been shy texting for almost two weeks; one was too shy to just go and tell the other to hang out, and vise versa. It sometimes frustrates the hell out of the people around them. Frisk would say something like “I want to text him every minute, but I’m worried that he’s busy and I might disturb whatever he’s doing; what if he’s doing science stuff? And his experiment blows up in his face because I disturbed him with a text and－” While Sans’ excuse was… “i wanna text them but what’s the point if my texts are not gonna be welcome? they might get annoyed that i text them every three seconds. they could be drawing, or something…”

“I’ll－I’ll just reply after five minutes!”

“i won’t reply immediately…”

Their friends just laughed at them. Clearly, they’re incredibly infatuated with this person. They, as Frisk’s friends, could intervene later, but for now… it’s fun to just watch them fuzz over every word they’re going to use and over-think, “why did he use this word instead of another word?”

Meanwhile...

“I AM GLAD THAT YOU TWO ARE FRIENDS NOW. YOU KNOW, BROTHER, THEY WERE THE NEW FRIEND I TOLD YOU ABOUT! THE ONE I REALLY LIKE?” Papyrus told Sans, after crying on Sans’ lap about trust (“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME FRISK WAS YOUR DATE?! DON’T YOU TRUST ME ANYMORE? ISN’T THAT WHAT BROTHERS ARE SUPPOSED TO DO, TELL EACH OTHER EVERYTHING?! ALSO, I WAS SUPPOSED TO INTRODUCE THE BOTH OF YOU TO EACH OTHER!” again, for the Nth time in two weeks.) and other stuff.

Sans felt a little bad but could only hum. Paps was really pumped on that day, when he told him that he had met a new friend. It seemed to Sans all this time that he managed to have developed a new crush. Was he taking Paps’ crush away from him? Maybe he should lay off after all? But Papyrus continued, “THEY WERE REALLY KIND TO ME, ALMOST FLIRTY ACTUALLY. BUT I REALIZED THAT NO MATTER HOW MUCH I PUSH MYSELF TO FLIRT BACK, I JUST DO NOT SEE THEM IN THAT WAY! THEY MAY HAVE KNOWN THAT THROUGH MY ACTIONS, AND SEEING THAT THEY CANNOT DATE ME, THEY DATED YOU, WHO IS VERY SIMILAR TO ME!”

Sans laughed, Papyrus joined in, too. “NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!” Typical Papyrus.

“yeah, that’s probably it, bro. you’re the best after all!”

“BUT IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, BROTHER, I AM HAPPY THAT YOU FINALLY FOUND SOMEONE YOU COULD RELATE TO. AND NO, _YOU’RE_ THE BEST _EST_ BROTHER AND FRIEND ANYONE COULD ASK FOR.”

“thanks pap, but are you sure though? i’m just…me. they must be thinking i’m annoying by now because i just wouldn’t stop texting them,” Sans buried himself further in the couch, wanting to fuse with it, be a part of the comfy couch. At least then he wouldn’t be annoying to Frisk.

Papyrus scolded his older brother for thinking less of himself. “BROTHER! STOP ASSUMING THINGS LIKE THAT. YOU HAVEN’T EVEN ASKED THEM WHAT __THEY__ THINK! LOOK IN THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE, LIKE I DO!” After a few more nudges from Papyrus, and a playful wrestle, he finally managed to convince Sans to just do what he wants, and Frisk wouldn’t mind. But if they did, they would definitely tell him. “THAT IS THE KIND OF PERSON FRISK IS, BROTHER. THEY ARE BOTH KIND AND HONEST.” Papyrus wraps his brother in a tight hug. “SO DO NOT WORRY ABOUT UNCERTAINTY! IT IS ALWAYS THERE; WE CAN NEVER TRULY KNOW EVERYTHING!” he looked at Sans, still in his arms, feet above ground. Sans hummed and nodded. “okay, pap. i’m taking your word for it.”

Papyrus lets Sans sit on the couch again. “ALRIGHT! NOW, I HAVE SOMEWHERE TO GO TODAY!”

“where ya goin’ today? there’s no class on a weekend. right?”

“NO, BROTHER, I’M NOT GOING TO CLASS. I’M MEETING SOMEONE. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE YOU STILL IN THE SAME SPOT WHEN I GET BACK, OKAY, BROTHER?”

“wait, what－who are you meeting?”

Papyrus merely smiled and turned his back, heading for the door. “GOODBYE, BROTHER. I WILL SEE YOU LATER.”

“pap－”

“I WON’T BE LONG!”

Sans was about to ask more details but Papyrus was already out of the door. He didn’t want to teleport in his car again and startle him. That happened a few times already, and it was not a great experience. He knew his little bro was no longer a child but he couldn’t help but worry. He’s the big brother after all, and that’s what big brothers do, right? Papyrus will tell when he’s ready. He’s not the type to keep secrets from Sans. And Sans was patient enough to wait.

Sans decided to take a little walk when he finally got bored playing the same video game over and over. He really must get new games, but later. He changed into his shoes before going out. He hasn’t done this in a long time, just take a stroll, going in no particular direction. He liked to people-watch sometimes; that’s how he practiced reading facial expressions. Surface City was not the only city to be there near the foot of Mount Ebott.

The city of Ebott is Surface city’s good and helpful neighbor. And it’s very easy to cross from one city to the other. It’s also where Ebott Univ was. Sans wondered if he could drop by Frisk’s or something…but he decided against it, thinking that it would be weird of him to just drop by randomly. He was near the park now. _ _just look at those people.__ Monsters and humans, all interacting in one place. There were some that played Frisbee with their dogs in the grassy area of the park, some sat on the benches talking with companions, buying food from the vendors. People fed the koi in the pond, also. So much activity on such a sunny day. Biking, playing, laughing… One man caught Sans’ attention, however; he bent down to get a…coin, maybe? But he left after realizing he couldn’t get it off the ground. The brunette sitting on a bench a few steps away from that scene, was suppressing a laugh. They were holding a brown paper bag. Sans texted Frisk, _hey, look behind you_

The brunette looked at their phone. __yep, that’s definitely them,__  Sans thought. He teleported, positioning himself behind them. He lowered himself a little to be level with them. He let them finish reading the text before whispering into their ear. “did you miss me?”His skull was not far enough from Frisk’s own head, so when they turned to look at him they bumped each other. _smooth moves, sans, very smooth._  He sat next to them.

“haha, sorry about that, kiddo,” Sans had a hand on his temple where he was hit, massaging it. In the corner of his eye, he sees Frisk, doing the same. Frisk was facing him, “Hello to you too, Sans.” They tried to smile through the pain. He stopped everything he was doing and cupped their cheek with his hand. They turned a little red, and couldn’t look at him directly. He smirked a little, knowing that he could make Frisk react like that, but eventually killed the smugness he gained when he was hit by a wave of his own doubts. Maybe Frisk didn’t like being handled like this? He applied green magic to the sore spot. Frisk relaxed, all the tension in their posture gone. They smiled, “Healing magic, thanks.”

Sans nodded, humming. “mhmm, but what’re you doing in surface city park?”

“Just hanging out…feeding the pigeons,” they held out the paper bag and gave it a little shake.

Sans’ eye sockets narrowed, “really? just to hang out you go all the way up here to another city’s park? to feed invisible pigeons?”

Frisk smiled and was silent for more than a few seconds. “Heh, couldn’t get away with anything from you, huh, officer?” Sans’ permanent grin widened, amused. “I was just pranking some peeps by gluing a penny on the sidewalk. But you already knew that, psh, why am I still telling you?

“I wanted to tell you I was here though, in Surface City! I was debating with myself whether to text you or not before you arrived, thinking of meeting you but… I thought I might be bothering you and…whatever you were doing?”

Sans chuckled, “heh heh, should i arrest you now for public vandalism and bring you to the __station__?”

“Are you on duty?”

“no, but i can still do that. arrest you, i mean.”

“Go ahead and arrest me then.”

Frisk was preparing to leave when Sans stuttered. “wh-w-wait, wait…” Sans was waving his hands, making hand gestures again. “correct me if i’m wrong here, but i was offering that we hangout at my place for a bit, and you’re saying you’re fine with that, right?”

“Yeah, Sans. I’d like to hangout with you, in your place, for a bit.”

“heh, just wanted to make that clear. wouldn’t want to be in trouble with the real authorities for _kid _-__ napping.”

Frisk stood up and grinned at Sans, “Was that a pun, or you weren’t _kid _-__ ding?”

“perhaps.” He held a hand out for Frisk to take. Frisk held it firmly.

“A shortcut, I see…”

Sans didn’t even stand up from the bench. Instead, he teleported them to his couch at home. The smell of burning caramels filled the air. The warm, sweet smell seemed to linger here more than anywhere else, but it was gone now.

Frisk sat down next to him, hands still not leaving his. Not that Sans minded… Frisk looked around, they didn’t manage to the last time they were here. They were in the living room with a huge flat screen television. The couch was a crescent shape, large enough to fit eight people, or more. The floor was low, a depression, with an orange carpet and some throw pillows littered around. It was like being in an isolated hole from the rest of the house, in a good way. Frisk became conscious of their own shoes. They immediately took them off and put them on the shoe rack near the front door. The walls were white with decorations of mostly orange. They admired the large painting of a bone, directly in front of the door way.

“Let me guess, the painting was Paps’ idea, right?”

Sans turned, following them with his eyes. They plopped back down the couch. “yeah, i let him pick the designs, he’s better at that than i am.”

Frisk hummed. “Nice place.”

“thanks, that’s my bro for ya! so…”

“Hm?”

“what kind of movies do you like?”

“Horror..?”

“huh, never took you to be one to like those.”

“Heh, I like it for the mystery it gives.”

“so you like puzzles then?” Sans, too lazy to stand up and get the controller himself, opened up the void and let his hand through. A black void also appeared in front of the television, to where the remote was. “Uh-huh,” they nodded as a response to the question. Frisk asked, wide-eyed, “How do you do that? Is that a Sans-thing or can Pap also do that?”

“no, the space-warping thing is exclusive only to me, sadly. there are no more skeletons left, aside from me, paps and dad.”

“Oh, I’m…I’m sorry to hear that.” They looked down, at their hands on their lap, fidgeting with the seams of their shirt.

“nah, it was a long time ago, we’re over it.”

“So that means, skeletons can warp space but only a select few?”

“yeah, sort of…all of us are telekinetic though, pap just seldom uses it. says using it always is being lazy. there’s also changing of a SOUL’s or an item’s gravity－”

“What can G－Doctor Gaster do then?”

“he can make projections like his magical hands-thing he uses to communicate.”

“Oh, he speaks in sign language? (Sans nods.) Why?”

He smiles, “heh, you ask so much questions, kid! you’ll know it when you meet him.”

Frisk’s mind halts. Sans plans to introduce them to more of his family members. They kept repeating this on their mind, excited on whatever that could mean. Sans’ voice brought them back to earth when he asked them to take their pick on what movie they want to watch.

 

A movie later, Paps finally came back from wherever he’s gone.

“SANS! YOU HAVEN’T LEFT YOUR SPOT IN THE COUCH!”

“nope, i haven’t, but look who i found running around town!”

“H-hello!”

“FRISK RANDOLF! MY GOOD FRIEND!” he rushed to sit down beside them, and hugged them. “I SEE YOU ARE HANGING OUT WITH MY BROTHER AGAIN. HE IS NOT WORKING ON ANYTHING AT THE LAB AT THE MOMENT, HIS LAST PROJECT COMPLETED AND ALL. THANK YOU FOR KEEPING HIM COMPANY!”

“I, uh, this was a complete coincidence! Er, I－we didn’t really mean to meet today, uh, yeah, no need to thank me, Pap,” Frisk replied.

“STILL! THANK YOU! MY BROTHER GETS BORED OUT OF HIS WITS BEING COOPED ANYWHERE WITH NOTHING TO DO AND TO THINK ABOUT, YOU’RE HELPING ME IMMENSELY,” He said then scooted closer to whisper in Frisk’s ear. “He gives the awfullest pranks, when he’s bored! NYEHEHEHEHE!”

Frisk hummed, “hm, pranks eh? Who knew this guy’s a prankster, too.” They winked at Sans. The unexplained jealousy he felt when his brother came close to Frisk a while ago dissipated. He smiled wider and winked back. He’s been feeling all kinds of odd feelings ever since he’s met Frisk. He decided to ignore the thought at the moment. Papyrus just stared, smiling at their silent exchange.

“i’ve been showing frisk some coin tricks i know, ‘coz i found ‘em pranking some peeps back at the park.”

“UGH, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN TELLING THEM BROTHER? PLEASE DO NOT TEACH THEM YOUR PRANKS!”

“too late.”

“NYOO HOO HOO!”

“Naaaw, Pap, don’t be sad! I enjoyed much of his mini lectures on pranking, I took notes!”

“we were planning on going out to have lunch, would you like to come with?”

“EAT OUT? PLEASE DON’T TELL ME AT GRILLBY’S AGAIN?” Papyrus groaned when both Sans and Frisk nodded. “NO NO NO, THIS WILL NEVER WORK! I, THE GREAT CHEF PAPYRUS, WILL COOK LUNCH FOR THE THREE OF US!”

The two clapped their hands, applauding Papyrus. “YES, YES, I KNOW I AM GREAT BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU WILL NOT HELP ME PREPARE, BROTHER.”

 

Lunch was lively with the skeleton brothers. Puns, jokes and conversations were exchanged at the table. Papyrus might act as if he hated Sans’ puns and jokes, but he shows a little bit of fondness and aptitude for them, too. It was the liveliest lunch Frisk has ever partaken so far in all their life, they told Sans and Papyrus.

“Thank you.”

The brothers cleared the table. Frisk wanted to help but Papyrus refused for a guest to ever do the dishes. Papyrus washed the dishes while Sans placed the clean ones in the drying rack. They told Frisk that they could check out their game library so that they won’t get bored.

“I HAVE NEVER SEEN YOU SO EXPRESSIVE SINCE…WELL, BEFORE YOU AND DAD’S PROJECT…ALSO, TORIEL.”

“pap, toriel? what’re you even saying? there was…nothing between us.” He fell silent, mood getting a little low. Pap’s intention was never to hurt him, he’s simply speaking his mind.

“I KNOW, BUT… EVER SINCE YOU DISTANCED YOURSELF FROM HER, YOU HAVE BEEN TALKING LESS TO ME. AND NOW, YOU ARE TALKING YOUR HEART OUT TO ME WHENEVER YOU GET THE CHANCE. WHAT HAS CHANGED, BROTHER?”

He honestly isn’t sure. Maybe it’s himself? Maybe ‘coz he’s going out more? Maybe it’s because he met Frisk? Maybe ‘coz he’s feeling all these different kinds of emotions all at once, all too fast? “honestly, i’m not sure.”

“BUT I AM HAPPY THAT YOU SEEM TO BE FEELING THINGS AGAIN, BROTHER.”

“and i’m glad i’m not making you worry anymore.”

Papyrus hummed and smiled.

There was a knock, although there was no door to the kitchen. Both brothers turned to see Frisk, leaning on the frame of the walkway. “Found a game I liked, so I wanted to check if you’re done and if there’s anything I can help you with.”

“NONSENSE! WE ARE QUITE CAPABLE OF FINISHING THIS, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE OFFER. WE’LL BE THERE IN A BIT, FRISK MY FRIEND!”

“don’tcha worry ‘bout us, kiddo. _dishes_ our routine already, we’re used to it.”

“SAAAAANS.”

“what? you like it, you’re smiling!”

“I AM AND I HATE IT!”

They played some fighting games on the brothers’ console, the three taking turns on beating each other. Sans knew how to beat each and every game, except when he’s up against Frisk, and Papyrus still would not admit defeat.

“I WANT A REMATCH!”

“this is like the tenth one today.”

“Getting competitive, aren’t we?” Undyne said when she and Alphys came home in the afternoon.

“frisk is on the lead and no one could beat them, so it’s down to just the both of us now.”

“I-I want IN!” Alphys , who was right beside Undyne, exclaimed. She ran right beside Frisk, trying to say ‘hi’ though her stutter was as frequent as ever. At least she’s improving at social interactions now, Undyne’s been a good influence.

“Oooooh, Sans’ little lover is here! Heyyyyy,” Undyne wrapped her hand around Sans’ bony shoulders. He sighed, pushing down the blush trying to form itself on his face. At the corner of his eyes, he could see a tinge of red on Frisk’s cheeks. They overheard. He made sure that the blue glow of his eye could only be seen by Undyne.

“D o y o u w a n n a h a v e a b a d t i m e ?”

Undyne shook her head at the question. Sans can be scary if he wanted to be.

“good,” he said. That was her cue to stop teasing, so to occupy herself, she tried to talk with their guest.

“So…Frisk, right? I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced. I’m Undyne,” she held out a hand for Frisk to shake. They took it with a firm grip.

“I-I’m Alphys…nice t-to m-m-meet you!”

Frisk smiled at the both of them. She trailed off a bit at the end, “Nice to meet you, too, guys! Very nice to meet you, too...”

 

They played more fighting games at the request of Undyne. Frisk was still on the lead, followed by Sans, Alphys, Undyne, then Papyrus. Papyrus eventually got tired of asking for a rematch with everyone in the room by 5PM. He did not want to go with Alphys’ suggestion of getting take out for dinner. He wanted to cook for everyone again today. Partly because he enjoyed it, mostly because he needed the practice.

“Guys, I think I’ve overstayed my welcome…I-I’m going home now, okay?”

“NO! YOU STAY FOR DINNER!”

And with a few pulls and shoves from the others for them not to leave the house, Frisk finally agreed and sat in the couch. She texted her roommate to not wait for her for dinner.

“YOU STAY THERE AND SIT PRETTY. UNDYNE AND I WILL GET YOU FED!”

“Hey, Alphys! Would you like to help us?”

“S-sure th-thing, Undyne!”

Sans, who was sitting next to Frisk, felt his SOUL get heavy. No, it wasn’t because he was gaining weight from all the eating he’s been doing. He couldn’t rise up from his seat and for the first time in his life he didn’t want to be stuck in the couch.

“h-hey, pap? pap, will you please not use blue magic on me right now? pap?”

Papyrus feigned ignorance. “OH WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, BROTHER? I AM NOT DOING ANYTHING _AT ALL.”_ He grinned and winked at Sans as he went to the kitchen after Alphys and Undyne. Sans just sighed.

“Thanks for bringing me here today.”

“let’s be clear on something, kid. it wasn’t for you, it was for myself, i wanted you to be here with me.” Realizing the possible things of what he just said could mean, he quickly added, “with us..! here, with us! yeah, i’m very selfish indeed.”

Frisk giggled. “I didn’t know you sell fish.”

“huh?”

“’Coz you said you’re a person who's  _sell-fish_?”

They both laughed. “that was bad, but in a good way,” he said as he scooted closer to Frisk with difficulty; Sans could still feel the effects of blue magic on his SOUL.

“What’s wrong?”

“pap kinda got me down. using blue magic on me. changing the strength of gravity on my SOUL.”

“Haha, why though?”

“pro’bly to mess with me for besting him at road warriors.”

“Didn’t know Pap could be such a child…”

“well, _you_ try and live with him all your life…”

Silence. Sans couldn’t think of anything else to tell them at the moment. The mind draws a blank.

“Asgore’s the king of monsters, yeah?”

Sans nodded, curious as to where this question will lead.

“And Toriel’s…Toriel’s the queen of monsters, right? You…you had a history with them?”

“y-yeah, being the kid of the royal scientist, yeah. i knew asriel and chara, too.”

“Cool. Mm…mind if I ask…why were you talking about Toriel earlier? I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I just heard…”

“i-it’s fine. huh, where to begin?” Sans feels obligated to tell them, despite knowing that Frisk wouldn’t press if he didn’t want to talk about it. They would find other means to know the information they wanted. But how does he know this?

“well, i first met her after signing up for my father’s project, you know the one i told you about? the time-space project? they were with the king, as we were presenting the details of the project to them. we always wait for the approval of the king and queen then, back in the underground, before starting any project. resources were to be distributed equally among the people to keep surviving. __we’ll__ need resources to start a project, too. the queen was in charge of that. convincing her was the key for our project to even begin.

“i really thought of her as just the queen at first, she was beautiful, as what you would expect royalty to look like and more, and that we needed to persuade her, give more effort in convincing her to give her approval. i was in charge of that. my father is like pap at certain situations, they’d call out on my punning. i made a pun during the presentation. i swear my father would’ve shouted at me, if the queen and king didn’t laugh at the joke. they were both so delighted with the presentation, and the objectives of the project that it got approved. saying it was worth a try to send someone back in time to stop the humans from sending us underneath mount ebott. what the machine all did was reading those resets, showing us only eternity in the underground, or destruction.

“then mettaton made an underground restaurant and hotel. i had a show there, too. my first stand up comedy happened there. and the royal family watched. and she was so delighted of my jokes, even the lame ones, that she and the king congratulated me after the show. we became friends then.

“but silly, younger, me wanted something more with her. i…i fell in love with her,” saying this, Sans felt, was like confessing a sin. But Frisk didn’t judge, they thought they were in no place to. They just sat there and waited for him to continue. Sans was thankful for the silence.

“uh, so when we made it to the surface, thanks to asriel and chara, i distanced myself from her. sure, she still treated me as if i was her best friend but it hurt that i just had to. it’s only now that i could face her without the urge of screaming at her that i’m in love with her. which is good, because she’s happy where she is, and married. and has two wonderful children. it was a hard twenty or more years, keeping secrets and all it entailed, but i’m fine now. paps knows this.”

Frisk nervously smiled, and asked, “You’re over it now?”

“yeah,” Sans leaned on the sofa, resting both his arms above it. He was making little hand gestures. Frisk knew, it was something he only told a few persons. They were lucky to be one of those few persons.

“So, it’s…it’s okay if I did this, right?” They took his hand in theirs, lacing their fingers through his bony ones.

That was…that shocked Sans a bit. His shoulders tensed up, but he responded with a firm and assuring squeeze. They didn’t know how long they were staring at each other, as if time was slowing down without their interference. Sans finally acted according to his wants.

“it’s even okay if you did this,” he cupped their cheek with his free hand and leaned close to kiss them. Right now, Sans wanted to have lips more than anything, but Frisk didn’t seem to mind his lack of it. It was more than enough, they thought that this was a dream crossing into reality. Maybe it was hours that passed when they pulled themselves away from the moment. It _felt_ like hours.

“We haven’t even had our second date yet…” Frisk giggled.

“well, why don’t we have it tomorrow? i know a perfect place. aside from grillby’s, of course!”

They laughed some more. Yep, he realized, he was over it, alright. It was not just a bold and empty declaration to deceive himself－to make himself feel better. In the quest to make himself happy again, he found something new. A connection with someone that completed him. Frisk filled the emptiness that he felt all this time. There’s just one more thing, nagging at the back of his mind, but he couldn’t put his finger on it…

They talked some more, plans on what they wanted to do, what they wanted to try, where they wanted to go, again not noticing how much time has passed until Papyrus called them from the dinning area. The effects of blue magic on Sans was long gone. The two rose up from the couch to approach their friends.

“DINNER IS SERVED!”

“hope it’s not spaghetti again, undyne.”

“What?! Don’t be silly, it’s different! Papyrus was the one in charge of the menu, okay?”

“Whoa! This cheesecake looks amazing!”

“It’s Alphys’ work! I’m so proud of her!”

“Th-thanks y-y-you guys! It’s no bake cheesecake. I-I studied a-a little about food making and preparation so that I could help around the house a bit more.”

“well, your studying paid off, al. this is nice.”

“JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU TASTE IT! IT IS PAPYRUS APPROVED!”

Now this, right now, was the liveliest meal Frisk has ever had in this lifetime yet. But...

"Life is not a walk in the park. If you feel like it is at the moment, that's just the intermission. You'll go back to your regularly scheduled program."

...their thoughts sounded both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.


End file.
